Batman Forever: Red Book Edition

So i was totally unaware of the Schumacher Cut of BF until the Kevin Smith story on it last year. I instantly ran to this site to see what i could find and wow did i find gold. This is THE version of the film too watch, i'd forgotten about the great opening and the "red book" scene. Other notable exclusions are the Batmobile driving up the side of the building and some of Carreys' more over the top jokes. I will say i miss the "ill get drive through" and "holy rusty metal, Batman!" lines. The only complaint i can really give is the use of the Pixies' "Where Is My Mind?", i get the themes but hey Fight Club holds the patent on that as a closing song for a film. HIGHLY recommended.

I’m glad this edit exists. The original “Batman Forever” left a lot to be desired coming off the back to back Tim Burton joints, and this fanedit packs a great punch in re-aligning with those in a cool continuity. Great work here, check it out!

I enjoyed it. I showed it to my brother, and he likes it. It overall make Batman Forever more serious than the theatrical version.

As other reviewers have said, a lot of the cheese from Forever has gone, but I'm not sure if you can polish this waste. The problem isn't the editor, it's more a problem of the film itself as the film is quite simply a mess and I doubt many people surrounding this film initially thought that they would end up with a car crash of a film (still.....Batman & Robin, anyone?)

The deleted scenes are grainy, off-coloured and unfortunately don't match the rest of the film. On whole, I don't really think they improve the film much and I'm sure they were originally deleted because Bruce basically tells the audience that he is "whole" with Batman (whatever that means) with his final confrontation with The Riddler.

Maybe, The Riddler and Two Face could have been further toned down. I don't blame you for leaving The Riddler as Jim Carrey is visually amazing and I don't know if making the film "darker" was your true intention. The scene with the "dark/light Two Face girls" is very cheesy and I honestly thought that the scene in particular would have been kept to an minimum....but recently thinking about it again, it may have looked awkward when the girls re-appear at The Riddler's exhibition and at the evil island in the final confrontation. Who knows how it would have looked, I can't really pass judgement.

Another problem is Chase, she could have been reduced even further really. Maybe it could be someone's job to see if they could remove her completely? I personally don't see much need for the character at all. Nicole Kidman was purely in it for her name and nothing else.

On conclusion, I think you did your best trying to change the film. Maybe you could have made the film darker by changing the soundtrack audio and trimming the remaining bits of cheese you left in? But again, maybe that was not your intention. Would I keep this edit and watch it again? Probably not. But the cuts in audio and visuals were very well made and I'm sure you got the end result that you personally wanted to achieve, so good on you.

I hadn't watched this since the 90s, so mostly I was coming at the film with fresh eyes. I had actually liked it more than Batman Returns, due to hating most everything about the Penguin, preferring Val Kilmer as Bruce Wayne and Batman, and generally liking Jim Carrey. Actually, neither of the films have aged very well, though. But The Red Book Edition attempts to change that.

First, it has to be said that the deleted scenes are 99% amazing (except for one lame line reading by Kilmer: "I'm Batman") and they form a subplot that actually gives a REASON for the main plot of the film. It deepens Bruce's reason for survivor's guilt, justifies having Chase the psychiatrist being a potential lifelong love interest instead of just an old-timey harlot, and gives a more believable reason for Batman to retire than was presented in The Dark Knight Rises. As a serious film that holds up, these scenes MAKE the movie.

Unfortunately, they also highlight how different everything else in the film is. Well, mostly the villains. Schumacher was clearly raised on the old TV show, and the film frequently hearkens back to the improbable inventions and campy over-the-top antics presented there. He doesn't lean into it full bore like he did later in Batman & Robin, though occasional shots and sound effects emphasize the cartoonish aspect of scenes. Mostly it comes in the villains though, and sadly (even with the cuts) Tommy Lee Jones clearly has no idea what he's doing in this film. This Two-Face is a travesty compared to his portrayal in TAS, or even The Dark Knight. And while I was on board with Jim Carrey at the time, he's just horrible now. His hair changes back and forth every other scene, his crotch bulge is distractingly bad, and he's mostly channeling previous wacky characters rather than actually giving us The Riddler. Again, it's a travesty when you know what can be done with the character.

This is undoubtedly a better film than the theatrical release, and the new tone is created with great expertise and attention. Elliot Goldenthal's underappreciated work is the real star of this edit (besides the killer end credit songs), and the visual differences in the deleted scenes worked for me, for the most part. Also, Val Kilmer is given more to work with in this edit, enhancing the best part of the original film. I'd say this is now probably tied with The Dark Knight Rises for my third-favorite live action Batman film.

However, it's still not a great movie. Like TDKR, there are significant problems in this film that cannot be fixed by editing. If you're going to watch it though, this is the version to watch.